Machine for the manufacture of concrete products.



APPLICATION FILED AUG. 17, 1905.

Patented June 20, 1911.

SHEET 1.

2 SHEETS- THE NORRIS PETERS cm. WASHINGTON, u, c.

F. P. LANDIS. MACHINE FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF CONCRETE PRODUGTS.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 17, 1905.

Patented June 20, 1911.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

1n: NORRIS PETERS C0,, wAsumcroH. 1:.c.

FRANK F. LANDIS, 0F WAYNESBOBO, PENNSYLVANIA.

MACHINE FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF CONCRETE PRODUCTS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed August 17, 1905.

Patented June 20, 1911.

Serial No. 274,527.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FRANK F. LANDIS, a citizen of the United States,residing at WVaynesboro, in the county of Franklin and State ofPennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inMachines for the Manufacture of Concrete Products, of which thefollowing is a specification.

Artificial stone or concrete blocks, and like products, are beinglargely used in the building and other arts but are commonly foundobjectionable because of the fact that most of such products,manufactured by the known processes and machines, contain imperfectionsand are uneven in density and strength, causing the same to crack orcrumble in spots. Such imperfections are caused because of the fact thatin the ordinary process of manufacture the concrete has not beensubjected to a uniform pressure throughout all parts of the mass whilebeing molded.

My said invention relates, therefore, to an improved method and machinefor the manufacture of concrete or artificial stone products, and itconsists in certain devices and arrangements of parts whereby a uniformpressure may be brought to bear and exerted against all parts of themass of concrete to form the product with its outside face or faces infixed sides of the mold of the form required to impart the designdesired to said outside face or faces, and in an expeditious andeffective manner, all as will be hereinafter more fully described andclaimed.

In the accompanying drawings I have illustrated a machine for themanufacture of artificial stone building-blocks wherein my invention isemployed. It will be understood, however, that said machine is only oneof many forms wherein the invention may be employed for the manufactureof concrete or artificial stone products, of any form or nature.

In said drawings, Figure 1 represents a top or plan view of abuilding-block machine shown with the top open, Fig. 2 an end elevationof the same as seen when looking in the direction indicated by thearrows from the dotted line 22 in Fig. 1, the sides of the mold beingshown open as indicated by dotted lines in said Fig. 1, Fig. 3 a Viewpartly in side elevation and partly in section as seen when looking inthe direction indicated by the arrows from the dotted line 3-3 in Fig.1, the adjacent hinged side of the mold being omitted, Fig. 4 a detailcentral horizontal section on the dotted line 4 4 in Fig. 1, Fig. 5 adetail view illustrating the effect of the employment of my saidinvention, and Fig. 6 a detail View illustrating a modified form.

In said drawings the portions marked A represent the bed plate of themachine, B, B, B and B the several parts composing the sides of thepress or mold, C the former and D the plunger.

The base plate A is of suitable form and is provided with strengtheningribs a to afford the necessary strength and rigidity thereto. It issupported upon posts A, or in any suitable manner. Upright plates orside pieces A are formed or secured upon the top surface of said bedplate in position to support the hinged parts and the bearings for theoperating shaft and to serve as guides for the plunger, as will bepresently described. A crank-shaft l is mounted in suitable bearings aon the outer end of said upright plates A and is provided with a lever2, keyed thereon, by which it may be operated.

The side pieces B and B of the mold proper are hinged one to each ofsaid upright plates A by means of arms I; and 6 which engage protectinglugs a and are hinged thereto by pintles 5 extending through said lugson said upright plates and suitable perforations in said arms. The endplate B of the mold proper is hinged to the plate B by means of suitableinterengaging ears and a vertical pintle b which extends therethrough.

When the parts are in closed position, as shown by whole lines in Fig.1, they are locked together by a locking device B pivoted to the sideplate B by means of a pintle- Z) and formed with a loop which is adaptedto engage the projecting ear If on the outside corner of the end plateB. The top B of the mold proper is also pivoted to the upper edges ofthe uprights A by means of arms Z) and pintles or a hinge rod 19 whichmay pass through suitable ears a on said uprights and a perforation ineach of said arms. Said top plate has a hasp or looking arm B pivoted toits outer end by means of a pintle b and is adapted to pass f dicated bythe dotted line in Fig. 3.

down over the end of the mold and engage under the lower edge of thebed-plate through a notch a therein, as shown most clearly in Fig. 1. Acuring plate B is preferably mounted in the bottom of the mold andconsists of a metal plate supported upon a series of tapered lugs 6 caston its under side and ground to provide an even and level support forsaid curing plate. It will be understood of course that said sides B, Band and the top B of the mold proper may be of any form desired. hen ofthe character shown in Fig. 1, B and B may contain a matrix, asindicated, of any form or design to impart the desired shape to theoutside surface of the block, or other article to be molded. They may,however, be smooth plates, as B, if preferred, or of any other preferredshape or design.

The former C is a hollow casting of suitable thickness to afford theneeded strength and to give approximatelythe desired shape to theinterior, or back side, of the block or other article to be formed. Uponits outside sur face is mounted a sheet of rubber or other flexiblematerial C preferably elastic, which will normally fit tightly upon saidformer and is secured thereto by means of narrow strips of metal 0around its edges and screws 0, inserted therethrough to clamp saidrubber firmly to said former. A pipe C is tapped through said formernear its center and is provided with two branches C and 0*, one ofwhich, C leads to a fluid pressure pump, or other fluid pressure supply,and is adapted to discharge between the face of said former and saidflexible sheet C attached thereto, and the other, C, is adapted to serveas a discharge pipe. Said pipes C C and C are connected by a three-wayvalve 0", by which the pipe C may be connected to either the fluidpressure supply or the discharge. A suitable connection C is connectedto said valve by which it may be operated from the operative end of themachine.

The plunger D is connected by pitmen D with the cranks of thecrank-shaft l and is thus adapted to be reciprocated by means of lever2. It is connected to former C by screws (Z extending through its outeredge and thus carries said former back and forth with it. It is providedwith an opening for pipe C as shown.

In operation the sides B, B and B of the press or mold are closed andsecured as shown by whole lines in Fig. 1. The curing plate B is placedin position in the bottom of said mold, supported evenly and firmly uponthe top of the bed plate A by means of lugs b on its underside. Thecrank-shaft l is turned by lever 2 to a position to draw the former Cfarthest out of the mold, as in- Said mold is then filled with concretebetween said former C and its sides, said concrete being then strokedoff even with the top edges of the sides. The top plate B is then closedand secured by the bar B as shown in Fig. 3. The lever 2 is then drawndown to the posit-ion shown by whole lines in Fig. 8, which operatesthrough the cranks and crank-shaft to force the plunger D and saidformer C against the concrete, compressing said concrete from a loosestate to an irregular density and giving it substantially the form whichit is desired that it shall have.

Thus far the operation is not widely diiferent from that of many otherconcrete block machines. But concrete is not plastic and will notcompress evenly under pressure from a rigid form. It is composed ofcement, sand and broken stone, all of which are gritty and offer greatresistance to the shifting of particles upon each other to allow themass to become of even density throng out. In fact the particles willresist shifting until crushed, which weakens the product. The blockcannot, therefore, be given an even or uniform density and strength bysuch an operation. When placed in the mold the mass of concrete will bemore compact and dense in some places than in others and as it is notplastic and its particles will not shift or yield evenly the block canreceive only such compression from a rigid form as is allowed by themore dense portion of the mass or that portion capable of offering thegreatest resistance to the pressure, leaving other portions porous andweak. By covering the bearing face of the form C with the sheet offlexible material C, preferably rubber, as above described, thisdifficulty is overcome, as after the former C has been forced into thematerial by means of lever 2, by opening valve 0 the fluid pressure,from Whatever source provided, is allowed to flow through the pipe C tobetween said former C and said flexible material. As will be readilyunderstood, the pressure may be such as is required for the particularwork in hand and varied or regulated to suit the work to be done, thebest results being attained by a pressure that will give to the articlethe maximum density without crushing the stone particles, as thestrongest and most durable product is thus secured. In some instancesless pressure will be sufficient than in others. The fluid under therequired pressure flowing through pipe C passes to between said flexiblesheet'C' and the former, expanding said flexible sheet and compressingthe material in every place where it will yield in any direction, underthe pressure applied, throughout its entire area, until a density isreached at every point that will resist said pressure. As will beunderstood, it is immaterial in What direction said material yields asthe rubber diaphragm being flexible and elastic will exert its pressureagainst the material along the lines of the least resistance. The resultis a block, or other article, of exactly uniform density and strength inall its parts and all directions. hen the operation is finished, thevalve C is turned to open pipe G into discharge pipe (1 when the elasticsheet will contract against the surface of the former and expel thefluid.

In Fig. 5 the result of the operation is illustrated more clearly thanin the other figures. At the left of said figure the flexible diaphragm,the concrete and the former are shown as before the fluid pressure hasbeen applied, and at the right in said figure the flexible diaphragm andconcrete are shown in their changed positions, while the fluid pressureis applied. It will be noticed that the concrete material has yieldedunder the pressure unevenly along its inside surface. This is becausethe mass of material in the mold was of varying density andpressure-resisting power at different points. The result is a block, orother article, with a rough or uneven interior surface. But such asurface is not objectionable and therefore does not detract from thevalue of the block, or other article. On the other hand, the walls ofthe block, or article, being of uniform density, dry evenly and becomeuniformly hard and durable.

In Fig. 1 I have indicated by a dotted line, a short distance from thesurface of the former, the position of said former after the initial ormechanical pressure has been applied through lever 52 and crank-shaft,and by another dotted line inside said first one, the irregular surfaceof the inside of the block after the fluid pressure has been applied. Itwill be understood, of course, that the form varies in each block as itis not possible to place the concrete mass in the several molds so thatit will be of correspond ing density and resisting power in all itsparts. Vhen the pressure has been applied, sufliciently, the valve C inpipe C is turned to cut off the pressure and permit the fluid todischarge, when the elastic diaphragm C will contract against thesurface of the former and expel said fluid automatically. The mold canthen be opened up and the block with the curing plate upon which itrests is removed and placed in position to dry and harden.

In Fig. 6 I have shown a modification designed for forming buildingblocks of the form known as T-blocks, wherein the pipe C has twobranches adapted to discharge the fluid under pressure on both sides ofthe central rib of the block. The form is provided with two diaphragms,one on each side of said central rib instead of a single diarm f phragmas shown in the other figures. Many other modifications may be necessaryin the manufacture of different forms of blocks, and other articles ofvarious forms, as will be readily understood.

Having thus fully described my said invention, what I claim as new anddesire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In a machine for the manufacture of concrete products, thecombination of a mold within which the concrete may be packed and theproduct shaped, formed with an open side, a movable former adapted toshape the back side of the concrete product and mounted in said openside, a flexible diaphragm mounted over the face of said former, a fluidpressure supply pipe extending through said former to discharge betweenits face and said flexible diaphragm, and means for controlling the flowof a fluid pressure through said pipe, substantially as set forth.

2. In a machine for the manufacture of concrete products, thecombination of a mold for shaping the exterior of the product, a formerfor giving general shape to the interior of the product, means formoving said former into the mass of concrete in said mold, a flexiblediaphragm over the face of said former, and a fluid supply pipe leadingthrough said former to discharge between its face and said diaphragm,substantially as set fort-h.

3. In a machine for the manufacture of concrete products, thecombination ofa mold, an adjustable former connected with an operatingeccentric-shaft, means for operating said shaft to force said formeragainst the concrete, a flexible diaphragm secured over the face of saidformer, and a fluid pressure supply pipe leading through said former todischarge against said diaphragm, substantially as set forth.

t. A machine for the manufacture of concrete products comprising aframe, a mold therein formed with a face and four sur rounding sides ofthe form which it is desired to impart to the finished product the sideopposite the face side being open whereby the material from which theproduct is to be formed may be introduced through said open side andpacked in said mold, a movable former adapted to shape the backside ofthe product and mounted to move in and out of said open side, means formoving said former whereby said material may be pressed by said movementinto the form desired, a flexible diaphragm mounted over the face ofsaid former, a fluid pressure supply pipe extending through said formerto discharge betwen its face and said flexible diaphragm, and means forcontrolling the flow of the fluid pressure through said pipe wherebyafter the product has been pressed into form by the movement of saidformer my hand and seal at Waynesboro Pennsylit may be still furthercompressed to an Vania this 18th day of July, A. D. nineteen evendensity by the introduction of a fluid hundred and five.

pressure between the face of said former FRANK F. LANDIS. [L. s.] 5 andsaid flexible diaphragm, substantially as Witnesses:

set forth. CLARENCE E. MENTZER,

In Witness whereof, I, have hereunto set CHAS. B. CLAYTON.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C.

